What Is Peak Shaving and Valley Filling?
Valley filling is the quieter sibling of peak shaving. It means using cheap, off-peak electricity when demand is low (typically at night), and storing it or shifting operations to those periods.
Peak shaving and valley filling energy storage Peak Shaving. Sometimes called "load shedding," peak shaving is a strategy for avoiding peak demand charges by quickly reducing power consumption during a demand interval.
A10: Peak shaving refers to the reduction of peak energy demand, while valley filling involves increasing energy consumption during periods of low demand. Both strategies aim to balance the energy grid by reducing the gap between peak and off-peak demand, ultimately leading to more efficient energy usage and grid stability.
Use it at 6 p.m. when the sun's gone but the demand isn't. If peak shaving is defense, valley filling is offense. One prevents cost spikes; the other optimizes savings. Together, they form a synergistic strategy: This combo is the heart of energy arbitrage. Buy low, sell (or save) high.
Peak shaving means trimming those spikes using tools like battery energy storage. Let's say you have a plant running mostly at 200 kW, but twice a month you ramp up to 600 kW for an hour. Under demand-based billing (TOU or demand tariffs), that hour could cost you $0.30 to $0.50 per kilowatt. Now multiply that by 400 kW and 12 months
PDF includes complete article with source references for printing and offline reading.
Download detailed specifications for our distributed PV energy storage systems and liquid cooled ESS containers.
Calle de la Energía 24
Madrid 28045, Spain
+34 911 224 722
Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM CET